Cucina Sotto Le Stelle, Nightcliff

Seabreeze Carpark
Chapman Road
Nightcliff
NT 0810

The Cucina Sotto Le Stelle truck only rolls onto the Nightcliff foreshore on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings. When we arrived on Friday evening around dusk there was a queue to order and dozens of people already sat around either waiting for or tucking into their pizzas.

After making it to the front of the queue we put in our orders at the busy counter/kitchen and got ready for our 40 minute wait... plenty of time to build up an appetite!

Eventually our number was called and we to tuck into our dinner. My Giardino with its capsicum, eggplant and onion added to the wood fired base, sauce and mozzarella was authentic and hit the spot.

The Napoletana with its classic capers and anchovies kept the better half happy.

Both pizzas were $15, and although not super large kept us both happy. If you arrive at a busy time, be prepared for a wait, but with great views out across the Timor Sea, there are worse places to while away time!

Darwin Trailer Boat Club

8 Atkins Drive
Fannie Bay
NT 0820

The Darwin Trailer Boat Club is cities oldest seaside club dating from1958, when it was based in a modified caravan. It faces west is providing great views of the tropical sunsets over the water.

We didn't quite manage front row seats for the sun slipping below the horizon, but were happy with our spot none the less. It actually got quite dark at our table later which wan't a problem, except for the photography! After selecting our dishes, we headed up to the counter which also featured a giant version of the menu and the specials board.

The Thai chicken salad contained green paw paw, bean sprouts, rice noodles, cucumber, coriander and peanuts, was dressed nicely and went down well

I went for the Barramundi burger, with the chunk of battered local fish encased in a brioche bun along with tartare sauce and salad, topped with burger rings. The basket also contained some chunky chips and I was also able to visit the salad bar... The burger worked well and the rest of the meal left me satisfied.

The meals came to $40.50 which seemed like good value. The laid back vibe and beach-side location with awesome views make it a quintessential Darwin experience.

Beachfront Hotel, Darwin

342 Casuarina Drive
Rapid Creek
NT 0810

The Beechfront Hotel over looks the beach across Casurina Drive in Nightcliff. It has recently been refurbished and has a modern feel and was lively on the Friday evening we visited. We found ourselves a table out the the front and then grabbed a menu, which focused on Aussie pub dished with a bit of an NT flavour, before ordering at the counter.

The lemon pepper dusted squid was tender and came with chips and salad.

I had the battered NT Threadfin Salmon fillets with chips and salad. The Blue Threadfin inhabit coastal waters throughout the Indo Pacific including northern Australia waters, so it was good to try out a local catch. It was a flavoursome fish, well cooked with crisp batter.

Our meals came pretty quickly despite the pub being packed on the Friday evening. The meals came to $45. The sunset views over the ocean make it a nice spot to grab a pub meal in Nightcliff.

Vamos

1st floor, 37 Little Bourke Street
Melbourne
Victoria
3000

Vamos is tucked away on the first floor of the top end of Bourke St, although it is reasonably well  signposted. We had a table overlooking the street, the fit out features plenty of wood and downlights in the fairly dark space.

We ordered a series of tapas dishes and the plates came out in ones and twos. The Patatas Bravas were first to arrive, a favourite of ours and these didn't disappoint.

We gave the scallop special a go and they were perfectly prepared.

The broccoli topped with walnuts and chilli wasn't a traditional eat with a tooth pick style tapas dish, but the caramelisation made it stand out.

The crisp skin and rich flavour of the salmon was well matched with a red pepper puree.

The stuffed eggplant was filled with huitlacoche (a Mexican truffle) and spinach then topped with salsa which was a winning combination.

The polenta chips finished things off nicely and left us well satisfied.

The service was good, with the plates arriving at a good pace. The bill came to $76.50 although we were on a dimmi deal giving 50% off food which is certainly worth grabbing if it comes up again!

Wabi Sabi Salon, Collingwood

94 Smith Street
Collingwood
Victoria
3066

Wabi Sabi Salon was well located for our Friday evening plans, we'd booked a table which turned out to have been a good move as it was pretty busy when we arrived at around 8pm

Inside the typical Smith St storefront the interior sloping 'roofs' provided a Japanese touch and a cosy feel. Out the back there was also a small courtyard area that was also busy with a group of diners.

On top of the standard menu, there were some specials:

We kicked off with our favourite Japanese entrée of Edamame which we managed to get through pretty quickly, despite the the need to prize the beans from their casings.

We both went with bento boxes. The Rockling karaage with chilli garlic vinegar sauce was a winner with the better half.

I had the Agedashi tofu and eggplant with shiitake and ankake sauce. There were plenty of silky textures and great flavours!

The service was good throughout. The bill came to around $80 including a few drinks, which seemed fair. We'd happily go back if we are in the area again.

East Beach Fish and Chips, Port Fairy

146 Griffith Street
Port Fairy
Victoria 3284

Tucked away on Griffiths street near the beach, opposite the Gardens Caravan Park and across the Moyne river from the center of Port Fairy, East Beach Fish and Chips is easily missed.

The menu covers the basics with aussie style burgers and souvas on offer too. 

We tried it out on a family camping trip over Easter and unsurprisingly it was busy when we arrived to collect the order we'd put in by phone. We didn't have to wait too long to have our number called out, and we were soon back at our site ready to dine alfresco.

I'd gone with the Blue Grenadier which was great covered in fantastic crisp batter, the choips wree good too.

With an amazing sunset to watch, it turned out to be a perfect meal!

Garden State Hotel

101 Flinders Lane
Melbourne
Victoria 3000

I'd visited Lot 7 which previously occupied the Flinders Lane site a few years ago. From the outside there werea limited changes, but inside the Garden State Hotel things were quite different.

The timber heavy bar dominates the front section.

The rest of the large building is broken into smaller spaces, our table for 5 was in the Garden Grill towards the back of the building.

I had the roast chicken with smoked celeriac and white onion which was both very tender and moist.

The slow roasted Flinders Island lamb came with eggplant and curry leaves.

Chilli miso and wilted gem lettuce accompanied the 250g rump cap.

The 250g flank was topped with onion rings and floated in 'cafe de paris' sauce.

We shared sides, including the barbecued greens...

...fries,

...and roast potatoes.

A few deserts were also ordered for the table, the vanilla custard came with cherries and lemon verbena.

The roasted strawberries hid beneath a crust with lemon thyme and vanilla.

The chocolate nemesis was accompanied with red fruits and chocolate crackle.

The dishes in general were a little rich and full on for my tastes, but the other diners did enjoy them. The bill came in at $362 for the 5 of us, including a couple of drinks each.